Celebration and celebrity, the two go together and this has been the trend always but off late there is a slight change in the pattern.
An addition to the twosome of celebration and celebrity is the cameraman. The participation of the cameraman in the media driven world is so intense that his shots of extravaganza almost blind you. The burgeoning 24*7 news channels have taken up the worthy responsibility of informing and creating awareness of the important world happenings to the people. But sadly the same cannot be said of their actions. The incessant coverage and telecast of celebrity events, however trivial and petty, raises doubts on media’s sensibilities and their interpretation of the mental level of the country’s populace.We live in a world of disparities; hence it is natural for our ordinary selves to be attracted by the razzmatazz of the glamour world. A section of our society dwells and drinks in wealth and riches. They have so much that it doesn’t hurt to splash money like water all around them. And weddings are an apt opportunity to exhibit the dramatics of affluence. The rich and famous compete against each other, each striving for a more elaborate show of opulence. And to make sure that people do not miss out on this vital event, dailies and their supplements carry detailed description of every event including the nitty gritty like the exotic flowers and candles used, wines served, the guest list and of course their designer attires.
Yes there is surely a certain curiosity surrounding the lives of celebrities, especially those on whom we look upon as icons. And so far the media (mostly print) was satiating this curiosity in balance. But off late the media has gone over the roof in satisfying our humble inquisitiveness only to give grist to its own mill. It would not be wrong to say that there is an overdose of celebrity coverage from their personal matters to public show of pomp.
We would surely want to know about Aishwarya Rai’s and Liz Hurley’s wedding, but what good does it do if we know more about their weddings than our own. The story does not end with the report of the wedding. The newspapers carry inside information about the problems between Liz Hurley and her father-in-law, Arun Nayyar and his previous wife and lots more. On the other hand the news channels went live to repeatedly telecast the scene of the model who attempted suicide, accusing Abhishek Bachchan of being married to her. Are there not better and more important things happening in our world than this? How adventurous does it look for the national news channels to be airing such unworthy information?
The occasional prodigality of high profile weddings and related titillating events are not the only shots captured. The news channels have dedicated time slots to cover the everyday party scenario of the swash-buckling celebrity youths and their coterie. There is basically a desire to sensationalize news and sell it to the public. Unapparent, is also a general economic trickle down effect of this manifestation and publicity of wealth and material sheen. We are normal humans with growing desires and an inability to resist temptation of things. The more we are exposed to the world of variety and fancy, the more we long to own it. This creates demand for goods. Further the endorsements done by our loved and admired celebrities makes us reinforce this demand. Waiting to trap this demand are the impatient producers and suppliers. And there goes the cycle of conspicuous production and consumption leading to waste of national resources. In this chase of glamour and glitz, the celebrities get publicity, news channels get initial TRP ratings but what does the audience get? A surfeit of unintelligent news and information that serves absolutely no gainful purpose. There is no denying the fact that living our ordinary grinds, we feel fascinated by the larger than life image of celebrities. However the media’s excessive and irrational importance to petty celebrity issues and popularizing of page 3 culture is totally unjustified. On another level, being so drawn and influenced by the sham of materialism only implies a lack of healthy excitement in our own lives. And to fill in this hollowness we look upon and emulate a world that is deceptive and fake. A balancing act between excitement and indulgence and curiosity and information is needed. The castle of celebrity and celebration is brittle and show of wealth a self-gratifying act. The media should draw a line between entertaining and exploiting the senses of its audience. And it is for the audience to decide how much is enough and to make it known loud and clear.
